March 3, 2020: It's the day we learned of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in our state, and the day life changed forever.

Strange words suddenly became part of our daily lexicon: Social distancing. Flatten the curve.

We donned masks for daily tasks. Many stopped hugging family members who didn't live in the same household.

Soon, schools and church sanctuaries emptied out -- as did our sidewalks, restaurants and streets. A certain solitude set in. And sadness.

It was March 3, 2020, when Governor Roy Cooper said a man in Wake County tested positive for coronavirus. It was North Carolina's first case of the new illness.

The patient had recently traveled to Washington state and was exposed to a long-term care facility that had reported numerous cases of coronavirus. The Wake County patient traveled through Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Feb. 22, 2020, airport officials said.

At that time, nine people had died from the illness in Washington state, all in the Seattle area. Washington state officials had reported 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Among the first North Carolinians the virus claimed was a Raleigh city employee, a man in his mid-30s named Adrian Grubbs.

"All this happened so fast," his wife told us then.

She said he was a loving husband and devoted father.

Since then, more than 34,000 people in our state have died from the virus. From Jan. 1, 2020, to Sept. 9, 2023, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reported that 34,265 people in North Carolina died from Covid.